The former federal minister and former leader of the Progressive Conservative Party won the support of columnist Tasha Kheiriddin on Monday, who will not be in the running.

Strategic meetings are scheduled for this week at Jean Charest’s warehouse. A website JeanCharest.ca appeared online on February 2nd. The owner of the site, which is still under construction, remains anonymous.

One issue I think we can all agree on is the importance and responsibility of the Conservative Party of Canada to the country, because we need parties with national reach, which is absolutely necessary […] It signifies a political party true to its history, representing every region of Canada and presenting a vision that is very comprehensive for Canada’s future.Mr. Charest said after meeting with lawmakers and senators in Ottawa last week.

The Conservative Party Organizing Committee announced last Wednesday that the election of the next party leader will take place on September 10th. Candidates have until April 19 to submit their case, along with a $200,000 registration fee and $100,000 “compliance deposit.”

Ballot papers will be mailed to party members between late July and early August.

A national vision

After careful consideration and discussions with Jean Charest, Tasha Kheiriddin said he believes he is in the best position to advance their shared vision of the party.

A difficult decision, but one she felt was necessary so we can really rebuild this big tent conservative.

I think that’s his vision [de Charest] joins me This national vision, which includes issues such as defence, the importance of Canada’s North and environmental issues.

There’s no point in dividing our constituency or them membership to this question. I prefer to support itshe said, for that we have a chance to take the party forward in that direction.

According to some analysts, Jean Charest could have benefited from entering the race from other progressive conservative candidates.

Since this is a preferential election, if the race had been held in multiple ballots, their supporters could have rallied around him

But according to Tasha Kheiriddin, this strategy would not have resulted in adding members if she had entered the race as she and Jean Charest share the same pool of potential supporters.

Mr. Charest and I are speaking to the same constituents, we are speaking about the same things. It’s no use fighting each other.

Tasha Kheiriddin’s campaign team claimed to be well organized in most Canadian provinces. We can assume that part of this team will join that of Jean Charest.

Tasha Kheiriddin’s support also helps Jean Charest’s team reinforce the central message he wants to fight for, which is party unity and country unity.

Currently, Pierre Poilievre is the only candidate officially in the race to succeed Erin O’Toole. He was in Saskatoon on Friday for a rally where he received support from former Conservative leader Andrew Scheer.

Tasha Kheiriddin says she intends to run in the next federal election to try to become an MP. Intentions that become less clear when Pierre Poilievre leads the political formation.

I’ll see what happens in this race and I hope that the policy we pursue will be the policy and vision that I think is most important to the party. This vision is a vision that I share with Mr. Charest.

In collaboration with Laurence Martin